Cycling holidays Baselbiet Discovery Loop

The cultural city of Basel on the Rhine is the perfect starting point for your journey. Already on the first stage, you enter a landscape steeped in history, where castles and ruins appear time and again. Mariastein Abbey, one of Switzerland’s most important pilgrimage sites, invites you to pause for a moment.

Quiet forest paths then lead you to the vineyards of the Klus Aesch, the largest continuous wine‑growing area in the Basel region. The day ends at the Pfeffingen castle ruins, with their impressive panoramic view over the Birs Valley all the way back to Basel.

The day begins in Arlesheim, one of Switzerland’s most beautiful villages. Nearby, the Ermitage – the country’s largest English landscape garden – awaits. Passing the impressive Arlesheim Cathedral, a steady climb leads you across the cantonal border into Solothurn.

In Seewen, the Museum of Music Automatons is worth a visit. Wildenstein Castle near Bubendorf is surrounded by a valuable cultural landscape with an ancient oak grove. In your destination Liestal, you will find the well-known Upper Gate, the Törli, as well as the charming old town with its small cafés and cosy lanes.

Wine has been cultivated in the Basel region since Roman times, and the vineyards still shape the landscape today. On this varied circular tour, you experience the vineyards up close. The route winds along quiet paths through the wine‑growing areas of Wintersingen, Buus and Maisprach.

The local wineries produce high‑quality wines year after year, regularly winning national and international awards. Wine cellars, farm shops and cosy tasting opportunities invite you to discover the regional specialities. Rheinfelden, with its picturesque medieval old town and the well‑known Feldschlösschen Brewery, is also worth a visit

To round off your tour, the route leads through a varied landscape of fields, forests and idyllic villages on the way back to Basel. After a scenic ride around the small Farnsberg mountain, a detour to the impressive Farnsburg castle ruins is well worth it. The route then continues via Rheinfelden to Augst, where the Roman Augusta Raurica – Switzerland’s largest archaeological park – awaits.

In fine weather, a visit to the Park im Grünen gardens in Münchenstein is also recommended before you cover the final kilometres back to Basel. Your journey concludes there with luggage collection and your individual return home.